Page 68 of Hidden Fate

I chuckled. I shouldn’t have been surprised we were going through the same withdrawal. We were so in sync it wasn’t even funny, and our connection grew more and more each day.No one will be able to pry me away from you.

We’d just passed through Steelville, a small Missouri town, and were following a stream into the woods. Steelville was quaint, with a small downtown area of brick buildings lining both sides of the main street, and I was learning that most dragon shifters preferred to live in these types of isolated places.

Several miles from the center of downtown, we turned onto a dirt road into the thickening trees. After a few more miles, we turned right onto another dirt road that took us closer to huge, rolling mountains. As we rounded a bend, three small cabins surrounding a pond came into view. Each cabin was identical, with hunter green siding that blended in with the trees and a lighter green porch with steps that led to a white wooden front door.

A man close to Thorn’s age was leaning against the first one, and we pulled into that driveway. I knew better than to think we were staying with the thunder, since we couldn’t risk our enemy seeing us if they dropped in.

We stopped in a line, and soon, each vehicle was unloading.

The man leaning against the stair rail, looking every inch the warrior, pushed off and strolled toward us. His dark auburn hair was styled upward, and his face was clean-shaven, revealing a sun-kissed complexion. His peridot eyes focused on Theron.

“Spike.” Theron strolled over to the man and held out a hand.

The younger man took it. “You must be Theron.”

“I am.” Theron yawned and winced. “I’m so sorry. It’s been a long night.”

Thorn strode up to me and took my hand as he said, “Thank you for letting us stay here. I know it puts you out.”

“If this helps you take down Drake after what he did to my dad, I’m all for it.” Spike’s jaw clenched. “He should still be in charge of this thunder—he was only three hundred years old—but Drake made sure that didn’t happen. Not with his injured talon. Between my dad and the five older dragons that his warriors slaughtered, let’s just say it’s been a hell of a year for deaths at Drake’s hands, and the pain is as fresh as if it had happened yesterday.”

His anger and pain broke my heart. “I’m so sorry for what he did to you.” Those words weren’t enough, I knew. I still missed Mom so much; I’d give anything to hear her voice one more time…to smell her honeysuckle scent I was so damn close to forgetting.

“Me, too. But I’ll tell you now, this is your home until you don’t need it. We don’t have injured or old dragons that need hiding anymore, and I knew one day we might need to help another thunder and shouldn’t give up the land.” He scanned us, taking in our various conditions. Then his attention landed on Reece as she limped to my other side. “Obviously, I made the right decision. You all need rest. I’ll come back later when you’re better able to talk, but I want you to know right here and now that my thunder will fight alongside you. We don’t have huge numbers, only forty able bodies to fight, but we’re yours.”

Relief poured from Thorn. “That’s forty more than we had just a minute ago. Thank you.”

“I know you said you have twenty-seven. Each house will hold nine, but it’ll be tight.” He patted the wall. “There are two bedrooms in each—a queen bed in one and a double mattress bunk bed in the other. There’s also a sofa in the living room that has a queen-size pull-out mattress. Other than that, there’s a kitchen and one full bathroom.” He gestured between the first and second cabin. “That way, there’s a building with four showers and more restrooms. Dad built this place in case we had to take others in, so if there’s an emergency, you can use those, too. I went ahead and pulled out the sofa beds in each house, and all the sheets are clean. I haven’t been able to run to the store, but I’ll do that before I come back later tonight so you’ll have plenty to eat.”

While on the run, I’d seen more kindness than I ever had before. All these people were taking us in and providing food and electricity. Though I wished Drake wasn’t a threat, sometimes the horribleness in one person revealed the goodness in others. Despite Drake hunting us, these dragons had formed a network to support and take care of one another, and it was more beautiful than a painting could ever be.

“Thank you,” Reece said softly as she took my hand.

“Doors are unlocked, with the key on the kitchen table.” He strolled into the woods, heading toward a motorcycle leaning against a cypress tree. “You know how to get a hold of me if you need anything.”

The groups formed pretty easily. The warriors wanted to make sure there were at least two in every house, so our cabin wound up consisting of Thorn, me, Reece, Chandra, Kari, Eva, Sol, Echo, and Fury. Vlad, Cassidy, Theron, Hydra, Saphira, Tyson, Rex, and Opal went to the center cabin, with the rest of the group heading to the third. We wanted to keep a mix of groups in each house so we could all get to know one another.

Owen and Asher took guard duty while the rest of us got some sleep. Like before, we would take shifts to keep watch. Not that we didn’t trust Spike, but there was just no telling when a threat might fly overhead since people would be scouting the area for us.

Our cabin was smaller than I’d realized. We entered the living room, and the hide-a-bed was pulled out as promised, the end of the mattress reaching just in front of the white refrigerator. To the left was a stove, a small sink, and a large cabinet that served as the pantry, with a square table that sat four in front of it. To the right of the living room and across from the couch was a door that opened into a bathroom, and a door to the far right opened to one bedroom. I could see a queen-size bed with no other furniture inside. As I peered further left, I could see that the other door opened to the room with the bunk beds. This place was so small that everyone would hear every noise we made.

The group insisted that Thorn and I take the queen room while Reece and the other two women took the couch, and the rest went to sleep in the bunk beds.

I crawled into the lumpy bed. Thorn shut the door and slipped in next to me, then pulled me into his arms. As the comforting buzz of our connection took over, he pressed a soft kiss on top of my head, and I fell quickly asleep.

A ringing noise went off, stirring me awake. I blinked my eyes open only to be blinded by the morning sun reflecting off the wall. We hadn’t been asleep for long.

The ringing kept going, and Thorn mumbled as he pulled me back into his arms.

Thorn, a phone is going off.I sat up, pulling myself from his arms to get my bearings.

It’s the burner.He reached under his pillow, removing it. There was a missed call.

As he opened the phone, a text message came through.

Theron’s thunder is in trouble. Warriors on the way.

My heart leapt into my throat. Peter knew Theron had been talking to Wyvern, and we’d all forgotten. He must have reached Drake.

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